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50 APO for the new 35mm 1.4 Lux?


Jan1985

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What is your opinion? I think about selling my 50mm APO and purchasing the 35mm 1.4 Lux. The reason why I think it could be better that I do a lot wedding documentary work. The 28mm f/2.0 Voigtländer doesnt make me happy. I miss some artistic signature in the rendering of the lens.

And as I suppose the 1.4 Lux could fit better in that regard?

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The 35mm lux fle v2 is the best 35mm I have ever had. Sharp enough but not to the point of ruining the picture as sometimes happens with modern lenses like the 35mm 1.4 GM by Sony. On the other hand, the artistic signature is definitely there. Wide open this is a gem.

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Instead of the 35mm Summilux ASPH II, what about the Zeiss Distagon 35mm 1.4? 
 

Would you be able to hang on to the APO and get the Zeiss, given that the Zeiss is considerably less expensive?
 

From what I have read watched the Zeiss is said to be at least as ‘good’ as the Summilux. Certainly the image quality from the Zeiss is outstanding. The out of focus rendering is, to me, perfect. I would imagine that this kind of rendering would be ideal for wedding work. The downsides are larger size and weight, and vs the ‘lux ASPH II the lack of very close focus. Also of course there are plenty of other 35mm options, but if you’re after the last word in beautiful modern rendering, the Zeiss is worth considering. 
 

I think if I had a 50 APO I’d be keen to hang on to it! I do have a Distagon and it would be the last lens to go…
 

 

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Jan1985,  There are lots of well meaning photographers in the forum that will give you advice to include myself.  But ultimately, it's your decision what works best for your genre of photography.  If you aren't using the 50 APO, then people will suggest selling it.  Then again, like many who have gone down this route, they regret they sold their M lenses only to rebuy them.  I suggest you keep the 50 APO because its an incredible lens and quite costly to replace.  As the saying goes, "Never sell a Leica lens".  Very sage advice IMO.  As for the new 35 Summilux FLE Mk 2, its excellent.  Perhaps you can rent one before making a decision.  Try the lens for a wedding before buying it too.  Last, try this link and it might help you work through to a decision.  The 35 Apo Summcrion, albeit a great lens too, is IMO higher in contrast and renders different. Of the 2, IMO you would be better off with the 35 Lux FLE Mk 2.  r/ Mark   Try:  

 

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That's not really something we can answer for you I think, you are talking about three different focal lengths but don't really describe why you would want to trade in the 50mm APO. You don't really specify what about the 28mm doesn't make you happy. And now 35mm is in between them of course, so I guess you want both wider than 50 but 28 was too wide, and you want a more dreamy rendering?

Honestly I would recommend trying to take the lens out on loan before swapping it, it's expensive stuff so best to try before you buy and then you can be more confident in your decision. I recently swapped two lenses and so far I don't regret it, but it was also after weeks of going back and forth and playing around with the lens before finally deciding. 

The 35mm Summilux is joy to use, so are the 28 and 50mm Summilux just to add more options to think about. 

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22 hours ago, Jan1985 said:

What is your opinion? I think about selling my 50mm APO and purchasing the 35mm 1.4 Lux. The reason why I think it could be better that I do a lot wedding documentary work. The 28mm f/2.0 Voigtländer doesnt make me happy. I miss some artistic signature in the rendering of the lens.

And as I suppose the 1.4 Lux could fit better in that regard?

The summilux 35mm FLE (1 or 2) is a great lens and an excellent choice, but it is not 50...neither 28...depends what you are after 

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50mm and 35mm are not anywhere nearly the same focal length, as my eyes see it. If 28mm is the one that is causing discontent, why not replace the 28mm lens, rather than your 50 APO? This is not a matter of my “defending” the 50 APO, for ego investment reasons, because I do not own a 50 APO, nor do I aspire to do so. (At 50mm, I very much prefer the Summilux.)

I do find 35mm much more inspiring than 28mm. Something about 28mm just seems so blandly normal. I do, very much, understand the artistic reasons to want to shoot at f/1.4, with a Summilux lens, though I used my resources for a 50mm Summilux ASPH, rather than a 35mm Summilux ASPH. Indeed, it was the Summilux-M 50mm ASPH that lured me into adding the Leica M system, five years ago. The Lure of the ‘Lux is strong.

Of course, selling the 50 APO may be necessary, in order to finance the Summilux-M 35mm. I can certainly support that choice, especially for a working professional. I moved financial mountains, in order to be able to obtain the best 100mm macro lens, in the world, in its day, 12 years ago. (I needed to be able to shoot evidentiary/forensic/crime scene images, in all weather, as part of my duties as a public servant.)

My actual choice, at 35mm, for an f/1.4 lens, is the truly excellent Zeiss Distagon ZM, but, that is largely for landscape and general utility. For the artistic aspects of documentary-style photography of people, I might well rather use a Summilux-M 35mm ASPH FLE, just as I prefer the artistic aspects of my 50mm ‘Lux for images of people.

I am not any kind of “expert,” and not a professional photographer. My formal training has been evidentiary/forensic/crime scene shooting, which has little to do with being creative and artistic.

Edited by RexGig0
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First things first.  For me that’s focal length; 50 and 35 are distinct and both appreciated. After that, many factors determine my lens selection: speed, size, handling and ergonomics (including hood design), rendering characteristics (many different variables), etc. I currently enjoy using the 50 Summilux ASPH and 35 Summilux ASPH (FLE v.1) and 35 Summicron ASPH v.1. Only shooting, editing and printing with the gear allowed me to choose; surveying others never entered my mind.

Jeff

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Thank you all for your advices. I see that selling the 50 APO would be stupid in some way regarding prices for new ones or even used APOs.

Has anyone of you ever tried the Voigtländer 35mm Nokton 1.2 III? I really think about selling 28mm f/2 which I don‘t really like that mich and looking for a Voigtländer 35mm.

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5 hours ago, Jan1985 said:

Thank you all for your advices. I see that selling the 50 APO would be stupid in some way regarding prices for new ones or even used APOs.

Has anyone of you ever tried the Voigtländer 35mm Nokton 1.2 III? I really think about selling 28mm f/2 which I don‘t really like that mich and looking for a Voigtländer 35mm.

I had the 35 nokton III.  It was an impressive lens. But does suffer from LOCA.  In the out of focus area 

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If you're a fan of the 50APO maybe check out the Voightlander 35MM APO? It's supposed to be similar to the Leica 35MM APO at much more reasonable cost or as others have mentioned the Zeiss 35MM 1.4 Distagon is an excellent choice as well, better performing than the FLE but large for an M lens

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They are such different lenses. The 50APO is just perfect wide open whilst the 35mm summilux is quite poor in the corners wide open. I use mine for landscapes so I always have to stop it down to at least 5.6 to get good results. It’s a nice lens for environmental portraits though. 

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